One day you'll understand
by Type12
Summary: There's just something satisfying about seeing a half blind James Potter on a scavenging hunt for his glasses. And, there's just a flash of realisation, as she begins to understand, that she just needs to let down the curtain. ONE SHOT - COMPLETED. Set after the day at the lake. Jily.


Lily rounded the corner quickly, wiping tears hurriedly from her eyes. She didn't want to cry, and she really didn't want anyone to know that being called a mudblood had upset her, especially as it was Snape who had said it. She kept trying to tell herself that she didn't care, that whatever Snape called her now didn't matter, because Snape was no longer her best friend. Indeed, Snape was no longer even a friend. He had betrayed her, and while he had constantly sought her out to apologise, no sort of person calls their best friend a mudblood, and expects to be forgiven.

Before that day by the lake, Lily had already began to see the changes in Snape, or maybe they had always been there. Nevertheless, she didn't like them. She didn't like the people he had started to converse with, or what they did, and she certainly didn't like Sev's growing interest in the dark arts. But despite all that, he had been her friend, so she had always had a flicker of hope that it was just a phase, that he was still the boy who she had met at the playground with Petunia.

She felt another damned tear slide down her cheek, and brushed it away angrily. No matter how much she had believed in Severus, he wasn't her friend now, so there was no point in crying over him. He had chosen his path, and now she had chosen hers.

As she sped up to reach her dormitory, so that she could just sleep for a long, long while, someone sped around the corner so fast that she was unable to get out of the way. She yelped as the other student, she couldn't see who because it was already growing dark in the corridors, knocked her flat in a tangle of limbs and robes.

"Merlin, I'm so sorry, I'm such a klutz-" he cried, and Lily's eyes widened when she realised who was pinning her to the ground. Potter. Her stomach squirmed, in what she guessed was disgust. She was incredibly glad of the growing darkness, which would make her vibrant red hair not seem as obvious. Potter's glasses had fallen off his nose, she couldn't spot where they had gone, so he thankfully hadn't guessed who he was practically lying on top of. "I really am sorry!" he finished.

"Get off," Lily mumbled, trying very hard not to sound like herself.

"Oh yeah, sorry, sure thing," Potter said. He lifted himself to his feet, in the graceful way that Lily didn't think tall people should be able to, and extended a hand for her, which she took hesitantly.

"Bloody hell," he muttered, blinking owlishly as he tried to make out the person he had ran into. "I can't believe I dropped my glasses!"

Lily couldn't help but snicker. He really did look like a child, with a huge pout fastened onto his face like a mask, and his eyes widened in the useless hope of being able too see better. Lily knew very well that he was as good as blind without his glasses, and found great enjoyment in the idea of watching Potter suffer for a few minutes. He dropped to his knees to look for his glasses, searching with his hands.

Lily suddenly spotted his rectangular glasses sitting a couple of feet away. She smirked, her previous thoughts of Snape forgotten, as she tiptoed quietly over to the glasses, and picked them up. They weren't broken, as far as she could tell. Pity. It would do Potter some good to be blind for a while.

Potter was still crawling around, mumbling swear words as he did so, before he looked up towards where he thought Lily was. Of course, he didn't know who it was, but he assumed it wasn't a Slytherin, as he hadn't yet been on the receiving end of a curse.

"I don't suppose you could find my glasses, could you?" he said pleadingly, staring towards the corridor wall. "I'm blind as a bat without them,"

Lily felt a little bit of sympathy crawl over her as she watched Potter lift a hand to ruffle his hair, which was already messy enough from his fall. Not enough sympathy to have a pity party or whatever, but she supposed it was enough to give him back his glasses. She trotted towards him, glad to have the power over him, and pulled him up by the arm. She forced herself not to look into his eyes, as she slid his glasses onto his face, therefore allowing him vision.

"Thank you," he smiled. When he saw Lily, his eyes widened even more if possible.

"Lily," he said.

"Potter."

"Have you been crying?" he asked, glimpsing her puffy red eyes, and tear stained cheeks. A guilty expression grew on his face, he undoubtedly knew that she had been crying because of the lake incident.

"Even if I was, why would I tell you," she replied stiffly. She averted her gaze from him, but didn't walk away. She wanted him to know. She wanted him to know that this was his fault. He seemed to be taking it the wrong way, however. She wanted him to know that she was angry about _Severus, _and that it was his fault. He seemed to think that she was crying over him, which was absurd, because Lily Evans did _not _cry over James Potter.

He moved forwards as if to comfort her, raising his arms to wrap around her. Lily pulled away angrily, and smacked his arm away.

"Don't touch me!" Lily cried, her voice cracking as another wild sob racked her body. She hated feeling weak in front of him, but she was confused as to why he wasn't wearing the trademark Potter smirk, or even a look of amusement. His eyebrows were furrowed in concern, Lily could see the struggle he was facing to not attempt to throw his arms around her again.

"Lily, I just want to help," he said, awkwardly, rubbing his arms to keep warm. "Surely you can see that all I do for you is serious."

Lily scoffed. Potter had asked her out every time he saw her for years. But Lily couldn't help but realise that he hadn't asked her once since before the day of the lake. She didn't like to think that Potter had been serious every time he had asked her out, but with him studying her with such a sombre expression made her want to re evaluate.

Potter huffed in irritation. "You do know that it's not a joke, don't you?" he said.

"Don't be stupid, of course it's a joke," she answered.

Potter made a cry of what sounded of exasperation, and stepped closer to Lily. His eyes bore into hers, his hazel and gold staring intently into her vibrant green. She began to feel very uncomfortable, there was only a few inches between their faces, which must have been the closest she had ever seen him.

Up close, Lily could see many more details of his face, ones which she had never really cared to notice before. There was a small scar on his upper lip, which gave him a slightly rugged look. His eyes, which she had previously thought to be plain hazel, she noticed were flecked with green and gold. A light spattering of freckles covered his cheeks and nose, which looked as if it had been broken on at least one occasion.

Seeing all this made Lily realise that Potter was not really the perfect male specimen, as the population of Hogwarts seemed to believe. Seeing him up close somehow made him seem more, human.

"Do you really believe that, Lily?" he whispered huskily, his breath fluttering onto Lily's cheeks.

"Everything is a joke with you, Potter. Where is the rest of your gang? Waiting to attack me with cream pies around the next corner?"

Potter drew, if possible, even closer, until his body was pressed against hers. Taking a risk, he reached up and tucked a piece of Lily's hair behind her ear, which made Lily blush quite profusely. She was far too surprised to push him away, so she did nothing, and James felt his heart leap at this, because she had not rejected him. Lily _Evans _had not rejected him.

He leaned forwards until his mouth was close to her ear, then whispered in a voice which made Lily's legs shake.

"One day, Lily, you'll see how I really feel."

Then he disappeared as quick as he had come, and left a very flustered Lily in his wake.


End file.
